"To bring up and reflect upon these considerations, EDENin the framework of its Open Classroom Initiativeis organizing this Conference onThe European School2.0: Incubating Creativity and the Capacity for Innovation, together with the Universidade Aberta, the Portuguese Open University, and the University of Portoas well as the support of other European and international expert bodies."

The conference programme included plenaries, parallel sessions with paper presentations and workshops. The event started in the afternoon of 15 October, with registration and the Opening Plenary Session and ended with the Closing Plenary Session on 17 October.

Conference themes:

"In the age of the Social Web (Web 2.0/3.0), virtual learning environments empower teachers and learners to open their classrooms and be part of emerging folksonomies – the social construction of learning. Upcoming learning solutions gradually replace presentation tools with shared discussion and work spaces, offer coaching utilities instead of help desks, and learning resource repositories instead of ready-made digital materials. Teachers and learners alike are now using ICT very differently from one another and ever more creatively."

The conference programme included plenary sessions, and parallel sessions with paper presentations and workshops.

It was an interesting event! You can read the EDEN Porto Classroom message here

We certainly need to face the increasing Policy inter‐dependence between Educatiom,Growth and Social Inclusion. In other words, the new Equity Challenge

implies that we have to re‐engineer our school education systems, better than delivering “massive” education to the engagement of people in “massive” knowledge experiences, by up‐grading their Learning‐to‐learn Competence!

My Poster presentation was very appreciated by the different speakers. It was considered a spontaneous bottom-up innovation case where ICT is successfully applied to learning practices to build digital and other key competence in Secondary Education using educational digital resources in Languages curriculum.

Some teachers asked me about my practice with my students. They were very curious and asked for some pedagogical advice to introduce Open Educational Resources (OER) in the classroom.

My ICT pedagogical experience was the first ICT in school education successfully applied to teach and learn practices in Secondary Education in Portugal and one of the first e-learning project in Europe and in the United States (2000).

Thursday, October 1, 2009

The OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation(CERI) launched the New Millennium Learners (NML) project in 2007. It has the global aim of investigating the effects of digital technologies on school-age learners and providing recommendations on the most appropriate institutional and policy responses from the education sector.NML

The concept of New Millennium Learnerssuggests that technology uptake, particularly by younger generations, has an effect on the way people build their identities, communicate socially, and manage information and knowledge.

These so-called 21st Century Competencies, which are the main topic of this conference, cover the range of skills and competencies that young people will be required to have in order to be effective workers and responsible citizens in the knowledge society of the 21st century.

100 researchers, teachers and organisations from 30 countries participated at the New Millenium Learners Conference that took place at the Flemish Ministry of Education, Brussels, Belgium, on 21-23 September 2009.

Micheline Scheyswho manages the interface project between education and labour policy within the Flemish Ministry of Education and Training in Belgium has been an unique hostess ofNML Conference.

All the sessions took place in the Auditorium of the Conscience Building. The firstNML Conferenceaimed at showcasing the results of the first phase to link them to the next.Many speakers presented their overview about changing policies and programs. This slide from Marc Durandoof theEuropean Schoolnetsuccinctly captures the inhibitors to implementing such policies and programs.

Marc Durando/ European Schoolnet (slide)

Finland is a nation that has been very successful in raising education performance. The “Road Ahead” provided by Oystein Johannessencould be useful. Mr Johannessen is the Deputy Director General from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research about to begin a secondment to the OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation(CERI).

For three days, researchers presented their investigations and opened an interesting discussion with all participants, sharing ideas and experiences about "the range of skills and competencies that young students will be required to have in the knowledge society of the 21st Century".

The last day, Anthony Mackay,conference rapporteur made the final report with some key-notes. Dirk Van Damme, head of CERI, presented general conclusions, mentioned theGlobal Financial Crisis.This ongoing event highlights the need to prepare students for an unknown future where the only certainty is change and the most successful people will be able to analyze what’s happening and to make choices that support their own and their community’s welfare. This brings to clear focus the difference between ICT Literacy / “High Tech job prep” and 21st Century Skills.

Dirk Van Damme

Between all sessions, somevideoswith students' voices from the Provinciale Secundaire School Diepenbeek had been presented. It's always very interesting to hear the voices of the students about their teachers, learning, e-skills, and Internet use, in school and out school, at home.

All the research outcomes or policy initiaves in the area can only be put in practice if teachers and students regard them as valuable and relevant to their teaching and learning experience.

NML country survey

My thougths:

I think, as an independent researcher on learning & ICT, and teacher/ e-facilitator that young people brought a fantastic new vision to Education, since the 'first digital generation', in the 90's with their visual spatial skills, non verbal intelligence, multi-tasking attitude, in the classroom. And of course, their first smartphones used in the classroom as an educative tool.Schools must change. Completely! Curricula must be adapt to these 'new kids on the block'. Technology and digital devices will be incluse into school curriculum with books, pencils & other.However there are some innovative teachers that are going digital and are more creative in their lessons.

As a "pioneer native" teacher and author, I create some educational digital resources in cross-curricular, increasing skills and competencies of my students, motivating them to go further "in order to be effective workers with the digital skills to have a decent job ans be responsible citizens in the knowledge society of the 21st century".

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Recent Publications

Souto, G. (2013) Time for Action: New Challenges in Secondary Education. At Conference Proceedings, International Conference The Future of Education, Florence, Italy.

Souto, G. (2013) Visionary Learning for 2030: Secondary Education. In Booklet online "Vision on Open Education 2030 Part 2: School Education", European Commission and The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS).

TEDxKids Brussels 2011

Gina Souto was guest tweeting from TEDxKids in Brussels on June 1st."48 kids, all of them born in 2000, are going get their hands dirty, soldering, tinkering, hacking and composing. A series of hands-on workshops will introduce the kids to a range of skills and methods.

At the same time 400 adults will be treated to an all day program of leading thinkers, experts and makers."

The twitter address is @TEDxKidsEU and there was a fantastic live stream from the event.